Jacksonville rallies late to hold off SC State 89-85 (Dec 31, 2016)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) J.R. holder scored 23 points and Tanner Rubio hit a pair of late free throws as Jacksonville held off South Carolina State 89-85 on Saturday in a game that saw 13 lead changes.
Holder was 10 of 14 from the field, Devin Harris scored 19 points, Rubio 18 and Darien Fernandez 13 for Jacksonville (11-5), which reached 11 wins before Jan. 1 for the first time.
The Dolphins trailed 62-54 midway through the final half before kicking off a run that included three Rubio 3-pointers, a Holder dunk and three-point play.
The Dolphins finished with 7 of 8 free throws in the final 2:25 and dunks from Austin Demontrez and Harris to hold off the Bulldogs (3-10).
Greg Mortimer pulled SC State to 86-85 with two foul shots at 11 seconds left, but he and James Richardson missed 3-pointers in the last three seconds.
Eric Eaves led the Bulldogs with a season-high 32 points, five in the final 1:11.
